Litter-Robot III Open Air: The secret behind the Globe

If you've heard of the Litter-Robot (or if you own one), you might have a general idea of what it is and how it works. Most of you may think that the globe is just a plastic sphere that rotates and drops the waste into the drawer. But the globe has many well-hidden secrets that are fundamental parts of the machine. In this guide, we will have a closer look at this robot's anatomy, but we'll also be covering a few quick troubleshooting tips that may help you keep your Litter-Robot running.


This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://community.robotshop.com/blog/show/litter-robot-iii-open-air-the-secret-behind-the-globe
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One important thing about the magnets position is that a magnetic pole is taken into the account by the Hall Effect Sensor. I had to flip magnet from one side to another in the same slot in order for them to work.

Currently I have magnets located in the slots described in the article and one group attracts a magnetic pin I have and another one repels it.

However while this work perfectly with a normal cycle, it does not work (does not stop) with the “empty” cycle and for the life of me I cannot figure it out.

Hi there,

Each pockets contain 2 magnets and the attractive pole should be facing the outside of the Globe.

Hm, did it change in later designs? I have bought my robot in march 2017 and I’ve just checked that pair of magnets on top (next to dumping hole) have South Pole outwards and the one in the bottom have North Pole outwards the globe (sorry, don’t know which one of those is attractive pole: I’ve downloaded a pole detecting app on my android phone to check).

Hi,

We tested a more recent globe and the 2 pocket containing the magnets was set ‘‘attractive’’ pole outside.
The blog was written using a globe from 2017-16.

It is possible that your globe is setted in a different way but let me know if this work fine.

Unfortunately I am not familiar with your terminology. Can you please clarify if you refer to North or South Pole as “attractive”? Or may be explain how to check if the pole is “attractive” or (how do you call the opposite side)? Name is bit confusing here as both poles will attract metal.

Is there any resolution here on a how to know which way to put the magnets back in? When I reinstalled my magnets they definitely attract metal from the outside of the litter robot, but they seem to do that regardless of which direction I install them, and after trying a couple magnet rotation combinations I still get the blue, yellow, and red blinking lights.

Hi cgj,
Make sure the magnet attract metal from the outside of the globe.
If both side do the same, it’s fine.

In your case, the hall effect sensor is probably the issue.
You can find this guide to replace the part: https://community.robotshop.com/blog/show/litter-robot-iii-the-hall-effect-sensor

If you need replacement magnets, I’ve found that Home Depot sells ones that are an exact fit. Magnet Source Ceramic Block Magnets, 8pk, .875 x .187 x .25 in. It takes 2 stacked on top of each other. You can also find generic magnets in this size on eBay.

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Continuing the discussion from Litter-Robot III Open Air: The secret behind the Globe:

Hi all,

My initial problem was the flashing sequence of lights, left to right.

I leaned heavily on this guide and comments today to troubleshoot my device. After disassembling it entirely and cleaning all components, sensors, and tightening the loose set screw, I put it all back together expecting great things. It completed a cycle after power-on and a cycle after being triggered by the weight sensor, but after the second cycle it once again began the flashing sequence left to right.

I noticed a clunk during the cycle that I believe is a globe edge catching on one of the gliders. I disassembled the globe and cleaned all the edges, then reassembled, but there remains a bit of an uneven edge where the globe sections meet.

I’ve applied some packing tape on each edge (see image) on an angle to reduce the chances of it catching and balling on the gliders. The device completed the power on cycle and a cycle from the weight sensor without issue (no clunking, no flashing sequence error).

If anyone has a better solution to the globe edge issue, I’m all ears. I’ll report back if the tape fails or if I discover some other cause of the issue.

If it helps, I had taken apart my globe for deep cleaning and knew about the magnets so I made sure I put them back in the correct slots. However when I turned on the robot, it started to cycle (as expected) counter-clockwise, the waste hole went to about 5 o’clock, then back to 7 o’clock, then back to 5 o’clock and stopped with the three light blinking in sequence from left to right. I had read about the magnets needing to attract metal from the outside of the globe and they both did. Still, I figured there must be something wrong with the pair of magnets near the waste hole. So I took apart that part of the globe and carefully slid the magnets out of the slot, keeping them in the same position that they were sitting in there, and just turned them 180 degrees the way you would turn a key in a lock and slid them back in. That fixed my problem.

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Preciso de comprar imãs para substituição para o meu Litter Robot 2 e não encontro nem na Home Depot nem no Ebay.
Podem colocar aqui o link p.f.?
Os imãs para o LR 2 são iguais aos do LR 3?
Obrigado.

Can anyone provide clarity on magnet positioning in the slots? There seem to be a few different ways you can stack them, and I’m still getting that issue where it goes to 5 o’clock, then back to 7, then back to 5 and flashes all three lights in sequence.

Reached out to Litter Robot support and got this reply. Seems really helpful troubleshooting advice and I’m gonna try it out!!

If you’ve disassembled the globe and the magnets have fallen out, please follow the troubleshooting below to put them back into place.

  1. Take your bonnet and globe off. Replace the bonnet without replacing the globe.
  2. Turn the unit on. Press Cycle if the unit is not already cycling.
  3. Take one of the magnets and slide it towards the left side of the motor gear. If the unit stops, and the gear reverses direction, this will be the triggering side.
  4. Place the triggering side down towards the table/ floor you are working on.
  5. Repeat steps 2-4 for your second magnet.
  6. The portion of the magnet that triggers (which you would have placed towards the table/floor you were working with) has to be pointed outwards when putting them back in the globe (away from the inside of the globe).

This was most helpful. My magnets eye initially in opposing directions. I used a fridge magnet and one repelled and one attracted. Initially the unit got struck after emptying and was stuck upside down with flashing lights. So I flipped the waste vent magnet by spinning it in it’s slot (like a key) and then tested it and it got stuck right side up but crooked this time and with flashing lights. So I did the same with the other magnet and now it all works fine.

I also had the gapping issue another user mentioned but discovered it was because the alignment guides were not interlocking. I was able to fix it by a bit of trial and error.

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